Sunnyside may well be an appropriate name for Falkirk’s ground on some days ofthe year. But it was not so on Saturday, especially for GHA.

After the euphoria of victory at Biggar a week earlier the storm clouds returned, bothin the sky and on the field. On a wet and miserable afternoon, with only a brief let-upin the downpour, GHA suffered yet another defeat, their sixth in seven games.

Whether coincidentally or not, it was only when the rain eased that GHA had theirbest spell. That was in the third quarter, but David Scott’s third penalty goal, cuttingthe home lead to 16-9, was all they could show for their pressure early in the secondhalf. Even though Falkirk were down to 14 men for 10 minutes after that, because ofa sin-binning, the visitors could make nothing of the advantage. Matt Whittleston’ssecond try, Falkirk’s third, effectively put paid to GHA hopes on the hour.

In the conditions it was almost inevitably an error-strewn contest. Falkirk were thebetter at exploiting opposition errors whereas that had been GHA’s strength againstBiggar.

Who knows what difference better weather might have made at Falkirk. Would thehome club’s heavy runners have made even more of an impression or would GHA’sspeedy backs have enjoyed sprinting on a drier surface?

Regardless of such conjecture, Falkirk were happy. They picked up a bonus pointwith tries by David Jamieson and Bob Wyllie as well as Whittleston’s two, with DavidAdamson kicking a conversion and two penalty goals. The five-point win moved thePremier Two newcomers up to joint top whereas GHA remained second from the footof the ladder.

Apologies for the lack of more detail. Heavy rain turned the notebook into papiermâché!

The message to the GHA players is "don't give up." You have proved that "on the day" you can compete with the best clubs in the country.
There is "light at the end of the tunnel" and we must keep striving to find that elusive blend of speed, skill and endurance to demonstrate that the Club is worthy of its place in Premier 2.